How to Travel on a Budget Efficiently

Stretching your budget to fit in that vacation this summer may not be as hard as
you think. Here are some tips and websites that can help you stretch that dollar this year.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet
• Time to Plan
• Money

1. 
   Las Vegas Strip at night

   THINK BIG. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
   Places such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Italy, Florida and more are providing lots of bargains in this tough economy. So the first step is to do your research and keep your eyes open for those special deals. There is no limit to where you can travel.

2. 
   Google It first

   ALWAYS SEARCH GOOGLE FIRST.
   Search your destination on the web. Google places like Disneyland, Disneyworld, Austria, etc just to see what sort of deals come up. This can give you a starting idea of what your budget for this year's vacation will be. It can also give you an idea of what kind of deals are out there (if you're not locked in on a location just yet).

3. 

   KAYAK.COM
   Kayak.com is a search engine that searches other search engines for results. This is a site that finds great deals on airfares, rental cars, and hotel deals. Great starting place to begin your planning (after your Google search).

4. 

   cFARES.COM FOR THE CHEAPEST FLIGHTS.
   cFares is a great site for cheap airfares. The one offside to this site is that you'll have to sign up for membership to fully benefit from the site. However use this site to search for deals, and sign up for the newsletter subscription (which is free) so that you'll be informed of all the new deals. Membership allows you to book below-market discounted fares and platinum fare rates, however the site still offers great information to non-members.

5. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY SAVING?
   Good question! and the answer can be found through dealbase.com. This site will tell you the original prices of the deal and the percentage of your savings. So you can get a good idea of what you are really saving. Familiarize yourself with this site and check regularly to find the best choices. Check all your options here before finalizing any trip.

6. 

   READ BUDGET TRAVEL MAGAZINE.
   If you're subscribed to Budget Travel Magazine, that's great. If not, find the Budget Travel Magazine at your local library or nearby Barnes and Noble. This magazine specifically looks for discounted trips and this can save you a lot of time. Value for Money is the theme of this magazine and should also be the theme for your next vacation.

7. 
   Budget Travel Magazine

   GET PERSONAL
   You can get great deals for your hotel rates through competitive haggling. Negotiate prices over the phone with competiting hotels to get the best deals (that you won't even find on the web). This will take a bit of telephone time, but the savings you can get could definitely make it worth the effort.

Tips & Warnings

• Saving money takes work and time(ESPECIALLY TO FIND THE BEST DEALS).
• Be Patient.

Resources

• Kayak
• cFares
• Dealbase
• Budget Travel
• Sapphy's Page
• Check out my Bukisa!
• More Articles by WesleyJ

[blingaling]

on 6/7/2009 Great tips and resources! Good deals can be found, even in this economy, using your advice.